Defending Anderson Silva

In Defense of Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva lost a ton of fans due to his puzzling performance against Demian Maia.

For two rounds, Silva toyed with Maia like a cat playing with a mouse, but he didn't finish off his prey and spent the remaining three rounds coasting to an easy decision.

Some people say that Silva disrespected the sport, the fighters, the UFC, and the fans.

Others say that Anderson Silva is bad for the UFC and for mixed martial arts in general.

It's easy to make the argument that what Silva did was disrespectful, but that's not necessarily bad for the UFC or the sport. When all’s said and done, Silva's antics might actually end up making him a bigger star than before.

The purity of the sport is intact

If Silva went out and won his fight by some sort of technicality, that would be damaging to the sport. Instead, he went out and proved that Maia had no chance of hurting him no matter how much time he was given.

Silva didn't break the sport. In all his recent fights he's just proved that he's way better at it than anybody else.

It’s hard to fault a guy for flaunting his dominance.

Anderson Silva's antics haven't really hurt his marketability

A lot of people like mixed martial arts strictly for the violence. When Silva was deconstructing Rich Franklin's face and debunking the myth that Chris Leben only gets tougher when he's been hit, the fans loved it.

Now that Silva has had multiple nonfinishes in the UFC, those violence-loving fans can't be sure that he'll deliver, so unless they've come to appreciate other aspects of the sport, they're going to think twice about ordering a pay-per-view headlined by Anderson Silva and another helpless victim.

In order to market Silva now, the UFC is going to need to put him up against opponents who can force Silva to either finish or risk losing the fight.

Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson were such opponents. Silva destroyed them, because they were too dangerous to toy with.

As long as Silva is fighting those kinds of guys, he's going to put on impressive performances, and people are going to want to see him fight.

Silva was never a huge draw

Silva has never been a big draw in the UFC and he's never been the guy fans can relate to. It's been far easier for North Americans to relate to beer-bellied Chuck Liddell, an all-American like Rich Franklin or the exceptionally charismatic Georges St-Pierre.

If Silva was an English-speaking American, he'd be the biggest star in the sport by now, but a penchant for knockouts wasn't enough to turn him into a household name, and he's never really been embraced as a hero on this continent.

How Silva can become a bigger star than before

Silva might not ever be a big hero, but he gives the UFC something it desperately needs — a top-notch villain.

When Silva fights, he doesn't just dominate his opponents. He taunts them, embarrasses them and ultimately deprives them of their manhood. It would be one thing if he was doing that to other villains, but when he's doing it to Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin, it puts Silva into some serious villain territory.

Add his new disregard for the fans and UFC management, and we've got ourselves a bona fide villain, which makes him a refreshing change from the contrived heels that the UFC spins out every year on The Ultimate Fighter.

More than that, being a heel makes Silva an ideal foil for the hero types of the UFC.

All of this lines up perfectly if Silva is matched up against a guy like the mild-mannered St-Pierre, the fresh-faced Jon Jones, or perhaps aging legend Randy Couture.

We all look up to our heroes, but the UFC needs villains just as badly, and Anderson Silva may end up being the best UFC villain ever.